Rail and road-bed construction.



G. W. CLARKE.

BAIL AND ROAD BED CONSTRUCTION.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 4, 1913.

Patented'OCt. 21, 1913.

following specifications and pointed out in UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAIL AND ROAD-BED CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

Application filed February 4, 1913. Serial No. 746,155.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES W. CLARKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charleston, in the county of Kanawha and State of lVest Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail and Road-Bed Construction; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable other skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to road bed construction for railways and more-particularly to the construction of the track rails thereof and it consists of certain novel'features of construction and combination of parts as will be hereinafter clearly set forth in the the claims.

The prime object of my inventiomainong others, is to provide what will be practically a continuous track rail for the tread of the wheels and which is so constructed as to be rendered absolutely safe at all times, even though the track rail proper should become broken into a number of pieces.

Afurther object of my invention is to provide reliably efiicient means whereby the track rail proper is so mounted as to present a more or less yielding contact with the carrying- Wheels and thereby absorb to a maximum degree the pounding blows incident to the travel of the loaded train over the same- I I A further object of my invention, among others, is to so construct my carrying or track rail thatit will be most reliably held in its adjusted position and whereby the securing bolts employed to unite the several sections will be, at all times rendered 'conveniently accessible, as for the purpose of replacement or repair.

In illustrating the materialization of my invention, attention is called to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 shows a transverse section of my improved road-bed and trackway complete as applied to use. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my improved track rail, showing the usual form of tread. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing. the preferred form or bracing means employed to hold, the track rails in their relative positions. Fig. 4 is a detail View showing the tread rail and web thereof ture designed to compensate forthe'relative I movement between the tread and base members, and, Fig. '5 is a transverse sectional view of the tread rail and base therefor.

For convenience of description numerals 1 Wlll be employed, the samen'umeral being appliedto the corresponding part throughout the several views, and referring to the numerals on the drawings, 1 indicates apertion of the road-bed which is preferably formed of concrete, though other kinds of material may be used, as preferred, and lo cated or permanently embedded within the same, Idispose my base members 2, which I have illustrated in' cross section, and said base members it will be'observed comprise a base section proper having upon its upper side a pair of parallel vertically disposed sections 3, properly spaced apart a sulficient distance to receive bet-ween them the v -web 4 of the tread rail 5. I

It will be observed that the upper inner edges of each of the upright sections 3 are cut away or beveled so as to fit snugly against the upwardly inclined faces 6 of the lower side of the tread rail, whereby said lower side will have a wedge-like fit between said beveled base, and it therefore followsthat when the weight of the train,

upper members 3--will be caused to spread apart and incidentally lower the web 4: of the tread rail, it being understood that a suitable opening or space 7 is provided to compensate for the lowering of said web. It will further be understood that any suitable cushioning material may be located in the space 7, if desired.

In Fig. 1, I have shown the tread rail as being so formed as to be adapted for use in cities, where a minimum obstructionis-to be ets or openings 10 in the concrete, whic are provided with suitable bolt receiving aperdesigncd to be filled with tar, bitumen, or

85 or car, or cars, is placed thereon, the said other suitable material which can be quickly removed when it is desired to gain access to the bolt heads or nuts thereon. It follows, therefore, that by providing these pockets or openings 10 filled with easily removed material, it is wholly unnecessary to disturb the permanent part of the road-bed in order to reach the locking bolts or nuts, as will be clearly obvious. It follows, therefore, from the use of the construction of my improved permanent form of road-bed that should the tread rail become broken or should its removal for any reason become desirable, the locking bolts may be quickly reached and removed, when the tread rail may be lifted bodily from its place and another substituted therefor, when the locking bolts are restored to their places and the openings which render them accessible are again filled, thus leaving the surface of the street in its original perfect form or'condition. The upper ends of the openings 10 are purposely left so shaped as to receive the locking caps 10 and the wearing or tread plate 10, it being understood that said parts are designed to rest upon suitable ledges or beveled shaped mouths of the holes 10, whereby they will be securely disposed in their adjusted position and may be quickly removed therefrom, as desired. It follows therefore that by reason of the base member 2 and its parallel spaced upright members 3, the tread rail proper may become broken into a number of pieces without endangering the safety of the train passing over said broken parts, inasmuch as each part will be reliably held in its proper alinement to receive the tread of the wheel by reason of its peculiar relationship with the base member. It further follows that by reason of the inclined faces 6 upon the lower side of the tread rail, said tread rail will serve as a wedge-like member and will cause the upright sections or the guide flanges 3 to move outward away from each other when, by reason of their own resiliency, they will be restored to their true vertical position when the load on the tread rail has been removed. rails proper are held in true and proper alinement by reason of the Y member 11, it being understood that the bifurcated ends or branches 12 are so formed at their terminals as to each be provided with the upwardly curved terminal 13 which snugly fits over the outer edge of the base member, while the other single end 1 of the Y member is similarly provided with the upwardly curved terminal 15, which snugly receives the outer edge of the other base member, when by driving home the locking key 16 in its seat 17, the said base members are held against all relative movement inasmuch as the said Y members are alternately reversed when disposed in their operative positions.

The base members of the track bers 3 incident to the downward movement of the tread rail when the load is passing over the same. I therefore reserve the right to use said bolts with or without the said spring washers or equivalent thereof, as I may find most desirable in practice.

It will therefore be clearly obvious from the foregoing'specifications that by reason of the yielding movement which I have provided for the tread rail, when it is forced down between the guiding flanges 3 of the base member 2, incident to the load passing over the same, I have very closely imitated or reproduced the result which is attained by the use of wooden ties, thereby imparting to the trackway that resiliency or cushioning elfect which is to be found inpractice to be absolutely necessary to the preservation and prolongation, not only of the rolling stock, but also of the roadway itself.

It has been found in practice that if an absolutely rigid form of road-bed and trackway are provided that the rolling stock as well, as the trackway itself, is soon destroyed. For such reason it has been found that concrete and metal ties embedded in concrete, or other rigid road-bed, have proven a failure, whereas the old form of wooden tie has provided that necessary amount of resiliency which has insured success. Since, however, the wooden tie is costly in maintenance and the life thereof is soon spent, it is my purpose to produce the same degree of resiliency as arises from the use of a wooden tie and at the same time to provide a form of great permanency and reliability, and this result I have fully attained by providing a mounting for the tread rail, which shall be to a limited degree yielding in its character, as hereinbefore set forth.

By the use of the old form of wooden ties the rails, as is well known, were spiked directly thereto, and were consequently held in proper alinement, and the requisite space or distance apart. In dispensing with the wooden tie, therefore, I wish to call particular attention to the importance of employing my form of Y-shaped brace or guide 11, hereinbefore described in detail, inasmuch as said bracing member will be found to be reliably efficient in the performance of its office of truly alining the broken rails, or holding them locked in their true and accurate relationship. It will be obvious, therefore, that with the use of my improved rail construction any kind of tie may be used, as for instance any of the solid metal or concrete ties, or as stated, my improved track rail will be found reliably efficient even though placed upon the solid rock, inasmuch as it provides its. own resiliency, which prevents its destruction incident to the pound ing and jar which is so destructive to the present form of track rail.

While I have described the preferred construction and combination of parts deemed necessary in materializing my invention, I wish to include all substantial equivalents and substitutes as may fall fairly within the scope of my invention.

It will be seen from the foregoing specifications that I have provided a permanent form of road-bed and trackway construction which will prove in operation to be practically indestructible and, should the track rail become worn or broken, it may be very quickly replaced without. in any wise disturbing the traffic, inasmuch as all that is necessary to be done, after the locking bolts have been removed, is to lift out the tread rail and drop in place the renewal thereof. It is believed that. my improved form of road-bed and track rail construction will tion will fit between the upwardly directed extensions of the base member, and suitable means to yieldingly hold said parts together.

2. In a cushioning track-rail, the combination with a base having a pair ofupwardly directed members spaced apart; a tread rail having a web to fit between said extensions on the base, a wedge-like section joining the Web and tread sections together, whereby when the load is placed upon the tread rail the upwardly directed sections of the base will be caused to move apart, and suitable means to hold a pair of track-rails in true alinement with each other.

3. A resilient or cushioning track-rail comprising a base having a pair of spaced extensions upon its upper side, a tread rail having a web and a Wedge-like section intermediate the tread and'web, the said upwardly directed extensions being beveled on their inner side to fit normally against the wedge section, wherebyv when the load is placed upon the tread rail the wedge section will be forced downward between the contacting edges of the extensions carried by the base.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES W. CLARKE. Witnesses C. A. NEALE, W. T. Frrz GERALD. 

